Page 14 of The Nightmare Queen

Obviously.The voice inside of my head chides.

His gaze drops to my lips, but it’s not a look of heat or passion. It’s a look of observation - like I am something to study. His hand moves to cup my cheek while his head dips down. Our lips graze together for a second before he presses his mouth fully onto mine. His kisses are quick to become insistent, his mouth searching mine desperately. My arms loop around his neck, our tongues warring for dominance. It feels sloppy, uncoordinated, and tired. Formeat least.

He breaks away his breath coming in heavy pants as he sweeps his mouth down over my collarbone and then latching on my neck. Both of his palms have dropped to lift my ass. He lifts me up easily, my back connecting with the shower tiles. The edges of my nails leave half-moons on his slick shoulders. I dig them in hard to anchor myself against him.

From this point everything becomes routine. The same pattern and energy it always has, I’d hope with how infrequent we’ve been in this position together in the past months that maybe things would feel different. That it would be more. But as our bodies move against one another, it feels more unbalanced than ever, it feels like something is missing. Whatever burn there might have been five years ago is gone. His name used to tumble off my lips, now I force it out, “Ezra…”

“I missed you”he said.

Those three words settle sourly in my stomach. If only I could have returned the sentiment.

“Mom? Mommy?! Mom?!” I ran straight past my guards, running through the empty castle to search every room. My bare feet are loud as I sprint across the cold stone.

They said I was safe, they said she was safe - I have to find her.

“MOM!?” She isn’t in any of her usual sitting rooms. Maybe they moved her to a safe room? I think. But no, she would have been with me then. I race down the hall and see the light glowing from under her and father’s bedroom doors. She doesn’t stay in those rooms anymore - not after he didn’t come home. My hand reaches out in front of me, shaking as I grip onto the handle of her door.

I don’t know why I am so nervous. I heard a guard shout “CLEAR!” not too far back. But the air feels off in this wing and there is a pit growing in my stomach as I slowly push the door open. She hasn’t been herself lately, and I don’t want to upset her.

“Mommy? Are you-”

My eyes fly open, my fingers clutching my chest as I gasp for breath. “It’s just a dream…” I whisper, “just a dream.” I blink away the sweat and tears from my eyes, Ezra is sleeping soundly next to me. My startled wake-up doing nothing to disrupt him.

So much for guard duty,I scoff quietly to myself, even though I know Armond is always posted outside at night.

I crawl quietly off, tiptoeing to the hidden door in my wall that leads into the passageways. My feet follow the familiar way down to my Room, the steps I take are silent against the floor. Vada’s consciousness is present in my mind and I know she felt the dream, our bond doesn’t allow her to be exempt from the more visceral ones.

“Little demon.”She grumbles.

“No arguing.”Even my internal voice soundsexhausted.

“Torturing yourself is beneath you.”Her gaze lowers to meet mine while slinking further into the room, steam rolls from her nostrils and coasts over my body, blanketing me in warmth.

“I said no arguing. If you don’t want to stay and watch then don’t. Either way this is happening.”I turn only my head to look at her. She lays her substantially large body onto the ground decidedly out of her cave. Her eyes narrow, her only further protest of her disapproval.

CRACK!

I take a shuddering breath in, the familiar sting and heat spreading through me, “One.”

I wanted to avoid the domesticity of sliding back into bed with Ezra after tonight, so I took off in the passageways towards Axel’s room instead. There’s no point in knocking, I can already hear his obnoxious snores through the paneling.Click!I latch the door shut behind me. His room is dark save for the one dim sconce he left on by his main door.

There’s not much to his quarters other than it looks like a smaller version of mine. Most of the rooms in this wing do, I could’ve chosen to move into the Queen’s Suites when I took up my crown, but the thought of being in her wing of the castle churned my stomach. I chose to stay in my childhood bedroom instead.

“Shit!” I hiss, picking up my foot, pain lancing through my shoulders from the sudden movement.

“What in the gods?” Axel’s groggy head peeks up at me from beneath his covers. He scrambles, to turn on the lamp on his bedside, illuminating his corner of the room. “Eveera, what the hell?” He blinks a few timesbefore he takes in the full sight of my disheveled state, his face softening in the process.

I ignore the question and look down to see my foot’s assailant was a rogue dart that never made it into the board hung above his wardrobe. “You should pick up your room.” I note, hobbling to his bed.

He throws back the covers scooting over for me to climb in. “You should pick up your feet.” I turn my head, glaring at his sleep addled face.

“Turn the light off.” I snap.

“So bossy. At least buy me dinner first, before you start commanding me in the bedroom.” Despite his graphic protest, he reaches over and turns it off. “Did you put the healing balm on.”

I nod my head obnoxiously against the pillow, twinging a little as I do.

“Did you bandage them?”

---